Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Porter
Denver, Colorado USA

pint @ Tyler’s Apex, Good aroma, sweet. roasty. Coffee, vanilla are what I get. Orangy brown color, good head that faded. Minor lace. Bitter sweet flavor, more of the vanilla comes out, really balances the roast side of it. Medium body, oily creamy mouth feel, sweet bitter finish. I had my doubts going into it and came out mildly impressed, vanilla added a nice touch. It came out more as I rolled it on my tongue.

Bottle. Not the darkest porter - deep brown/red with a scant head. Quite low carbonation. The vanilla is apparent in the aroma, coupled with creamy chocolate and toasty malt. Vanilla continues to come through loud and clear in the flavour with bitter, burnt malt and cooking chocolate backwash. Bittersweet mouthfeel - starts sweetish but the burnt bitterness lingers longer. Rather light bodied. Overall, pretty decent but doesn’t have the depth of flavours, or richness to qualify for the upper echelons.

Big vanilla aromatics waft out from first crack of the crown. Pours out a deep, dark brown, with a sliver of crimson at the sides, a meager, but loyal cocoa / tan head. Good. Roasty nose, swiftly dominated by sweet vanilla. Light hints of coffee below, glimmers of chocolate. Pleasing, yes, but not overpowering, nor especially outstanding. Chalky, flaky cocoa feel from the start, like a dusting of chocolate powder...rinses the mouth with a smattering of sweetness, then dashes away. Medium, at best, in body, a bit too light for me...vanilla bean flavor clings to the palate and pushes away the other flavors that may reside in the taste. Gets sweeter as we go in, a bit too much for me, actually. Probably the best vanilla porter I’ve tried, but I’m still not crazy about the style. I like more porter, less vanilla.

(bottle - 12 oz) Nice black pour with a puffy tan head. Aroma is nice and creamy with a subtle vanilla aroma. Some coffee as well. Flavor is loaded with vanilla. Very sweet and creamy flavor with some roasted chocolate malts and a slightly nutty finish. Really sweet finish and aftertaste.

Pours a blackish brown color with a small tan head.Has Very nice vanilla/chocolate syrup aroma with hint of coffe aroma.Noted a big chocolate syrup/vanilla blast upon first sip.Also noted the body seemed a little thin.Bitter alcholic aftertase.

I’m not convinced that vanilla and beer make a good pair, and that is only because empirical experience says that the vanilla gets drowned out. Well, the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter rocked that assumption. Gourmet milk chocolate, vanilla bean ice cream and a little cranberry make a sweet and eccentric flavor. It’s not dessert, but still distinguished for its association with the sugary peak of the food pyramid. Simple, yet effective. The aroma is sweet and inviting too - blueberries, black currant and pine resin make an entirely different but persistently sweet drink all around. I don’t usually have nice things to say about about Breckenridge Brewery’s beer, but this one is definitely a cut above the rest.

1. Sampler at the Breckenridge Brewery 2220 Blake Street, Denver 08/10/2008 Small white head. Mid brown coloured and a little fruity with a vanilla flavour. Crisp dry and slightly bitter roast finish. 2. On Tap at the Breckenridge Brewery 2220 Blake Street, Denver 13/10/2008 Slightly sweet aroma. Dark red coloured a little rich and smooth on the palate with some dryness in a crisp vanilla flavoured finish.

poured black with very spare head. chocolate in aroma and can you guess the taste... vanilla vanilla vanilla, almost too much so. mineral palate, enjoyable.